Pleasant Plains teacher remembered for making difference in students’ lives

Tuesday

Jan 28, 2014 at 6:35 PMJan 29, 2014 at 10:19 AM

By Jason NevelStaff Writer

PLEASANT PLAINS — If you never got to know Carrie Lou (Risdon) David, then you missed out, her husband, Andy David, says.

“She was awesome,” said David, a registered nurse at Memorial Medical Center. “She was really beloved by a lot of people way more than I ever could have imagined.”

The 37-year-old Pleasant Plains Middle School English teacher died unexpectedly Friday due to complications during childbirth. She had taught at Pleasant Plains for more than a decade.

The couple’s baby daughter, Piper Jane David, survived the pregnancy and appears healthy, but Andy David said it’s too early to know if there will be any long-term effects.

Doctors have not determined a cause of death. David did say she passed suddenly during the onset of labor and never had the choice between saving her child or herself.

Since her passing, David said he’s been overwhelmed by the number of people who have reached out to him with kind words about his wife.

By Tuesday afternoon, more than 70 people had posted their condolences online in the guest book on her obituary page. One woman whose two children went through Carrie David’s classroom said her “influence would live on.”

Another poster wrote, Carrie David was, “One of the kindest, most generous, loving, and passionate teachers I have ever had.”

Superintendent Jerry Schutz said staff throughout the district are reeling from the news.

The school plans to have a crisis team in place to support staff and students when classes resume today.

Teachers would be allowed to attend the funeral Thursday, and parents have the option of pulling their child out of school for the funeral, Schutz said.

In honor of Carrie David, students plan to wear purple today, her favorite color, he said.

“She was one of those teachers that connected and made a difference in students’ lives,” Schutz said.

According to her obituary, Carrie (Risdon) David, was born in Burlington, Iowa, and graduated from Taylorville High School. She attended Illinois College before getting a job in Pleasant Plains.